Blair Moment Number 3
by Kara Sullivan
Summary: Blair learns that waking up late can be painful! Please note: it is not necessary to read these in order.


Title: Blair Moment #3

Summary: Blair learns that waking up late can be painful.

Disclaimer: They are not mine.

**A/N: Most of my life, I have referred to anything bad or unusual happening to me as "Writing experiences". For instance, when I had my wisdom teeth removed, I used it as a writing experience... I now know what it feels like to go under general anesthesia... you get the idea. Over the years, I even did some things just so I would know what it felt like. For example, I know what it feels like to ride in the trunk of a car. :-) Okay, so I got a bit carried away there in my youth! Well, since I have been following the Sentinel, I have switched the name for this from "Writing Experiences" to "Blair Moments" (they make great copy for Blairpain).... I know what it feels like from personal experience to be rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, etc.**

**If you should happen to recognize these, you may notice that the numbering has changed. This is because the one I had originally intended to be #1 has taken on a life of its own, and it really has little resemblance left to the "Blair Moment" that spawned it. It will eventually appear here, but not as a "Blair Moment". So 2, 3 and 4 are now 1, 2 and 3. I hope that's not too confusing!**

"Sandburg! Come on, you're going to be late!"

Blair Sandburg sat up with a start. The irritated voice had woken him from a sound sleep. He rubbed at his eyes and looked at his alarm clock blearily. Heart pounding furiously, he lunged from his bed and looked for some clean clothes to put on.

"I'm up, Jim." He groaned under his breath. He had promised his partner that he would go into the police station this morning for an important interview, and now he was going to make them late. "Sorry, my alarm must not have gone off!"

He heard footsteps pause outside the French doors. "Oh, it went off all right--for about 45 minutes!"

Blair struggled into his clothes, wishing he didn't feel so lousy. He always kept long hours between the University and the police station, but the past two weeks had been insane. He had made too many commitments to too many people, and now he was paying for it. No matter how much he slept-- which, granted, wasn't all that much-- he couldn't seem to get rested.

He had had a cold and sore throat for over a week, and all he wanted to do was curl up in bed, but he knew that wasn't an option. People counted on him. **Jim** counted on him. Shaking himself from his thoughts, he pushed through the doors and down the hall into the bathroom.

"Chief, tell me you're not going like that!" Jim's amused tones caused Blair to stop and look in the bathroom mirror.

What he saw caused him to blush. His shoulder length hair was plastered down around his face, a direct result of the heavy knit hat he had worn the night before while on a stakeout with Jim. The red plaid shirt he had thrown on matched his pants, but the wrinkles in the shirt could probably have caused it to stand up on its own. He sighed. No matter how late he was, he couldn't go out in public like this!

"I'll be right out, Jim." He slammed the door irritably.

Quickly peeling off his clothes, he turned the shower on hot, hoping Jim hadn't used all of the hot water in the tank. Almost as an afterthought, he dug through his half of the closet and pulled out a white travel steamer. He filled it with water and plugged it in, then jumped into the shower.

It was probably one of the fastest showers he had ever taken in his life, but he could picture Jim pacing in the living room, glaring at his watch. As soon as he had rinsed the soap from his hair, he turned off the water and grabbed a towel. Rubbing at his hair, he stepped out of the shower. He draped the towel around his neck under his dripping hair and knotted a second towel around his waist.

The steamer was cheerfully emitting steam by now, fogging up the mirror over the sink. He hung his plaid shirt on a hanger and began to steam the wrinkles out of the material. It only took a minute, and he nodded in satisfaction when he was done. It always amazed him how easy it was to get rid of wrinkles with his steamer. This day wasn't going to be so bad after all. He sat the steamer on the counter, pulling the plug so he could use his hair dryer.

As he reached to plug in the hair dryer, his foot slipped and came down on the steamer cord. Before he had time to react, the steamer had jerked off of the counter to crash down on the floor. The lid bounced off, and the scalding water splattered all over his exposed legs. He jumped back with a yelp, heart pounding as he realized that he had just succeeded in burning the inside of both calves.

The pain hit 5 seconds later, but before that happened, Jim was already pounding on the door.

"Blair? What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Blair responded automatically. "I just dropped my steamer."

The door opened, and Jim poked his head in, concerned. "Did you burn yourself?" He came in the rest of the way. "Let me see."

"Geez, Jim. This is a little embarrassing!" Blair glared at his partner. "Could I have some privacy here?"

"Sure. Just as soon as you let me see where you burned yourself. You need to take care of it right away!"

Blair sighed. "Fine." He pointed at his calves. "It splashed all up my calves."

Jim looked carefully at his partner, then touched one of his legs lightly. "I think if you get some cold water on those, you might be okay." He herded his partner back to the shower. "Get in and I'll turn on the cold water."

"Jim, this is ridiculous. We're going to be late, and I am **not** taking a shower in front of you!"

"Fine." Jim echoed Blair's word of a few moments ago. "Leave the towel on, then. You need to get cold water on them, and then we **do** need to go."

Blair sighed, climbing back into the shower as Jim turned the cold water on. He stood under the cold spray as long as he could stand before getting out to towel off again. He grudgingly admitted that his legs didn't hurt quite as much now as they had a few minutes ago. The skin was still red and sensitive, but it didn't seem to be blistering. He dressed gingerly and pulled his hair back in a pony tail.

"Ready?" Jim looked up as Blair climbed into the truck beside him. "How do they feel?"

"I'm sore." Blair knew Jim would have caught on to his slow movements anyway, so he might as well admit how he was feeling. "And I feel really stupid. Who does something like that, anyway?"

Jim stifled a grin unsuccessfully. "You do, Chief."

"Ha ha. Very funny." Blair glared at his partner but couldn't hold the pose long. After a moment he let out a soft chuckle. "Hey, Jim. Maybe I started a new fad. Wrinkle free legs." He leaned back in his seat and laughed louder.

Jim looked over at him incredulously. "Uh, sure. But most people just use lotions or go to a spa or something. Probably wouldn't hurt as much....."

Blair laughed harder, rolling in his seat. The movement caused his legs to throb, but that seemed to only make it funnier. "A spa. I'll have to try that next time."

Jim turned his eyes on the road, shaking his head. "Only you, Chief."

**finis**


End file.
